Quantum News
NEWS AND UPDATES ON QUANTUM PARTNERS AND PROJECTS
Brian O’Leary, head of Book Industry Study Group, wins lifetime achievement award from Publishers Weekly
Brian O'Leary, who is currently an Advisor to Quantum Media, but was a beloved Principal consultant here for many years before becoming Executive Director of BISG, is “being recognized for his successful 10-year tenure as the head of BISG, in an era when the industry has grappled with massive and near constant change.” PW editors have recognized O'Leary as a leader who has had “tremendous impact on the publishing business over the course of their careers.” Not to mention that he is truly a great guy!
Read the full story in PW.
#managementstrategy #publishingstrategy #welldeservedaward
Existential crisis for subscriptions? Quantum’s Ava Seave joins Babbel’s Julie Hansen at the subSummit Conference to consider the risks
Ava Seave and Julie Hansen, CEO of Babbel kick off the subSummit Conference (@SubSummit 2025) in a fireside chat keynote with a somber subject. They discuss the existential question: Even though subscriptions have been hailed as the greatest business model ever created for consumer and digital goods, providing convenience for consumers and brands with a predictable revenue, what if the companies have just overdone it? What if subscriptions are starting to be seen as a toll on consumers’ wallets, an inconvenience or even a predatory business model?
The most recent numbers that lead them to this are telling:
- Industry-wide median acquisition rates for subscriptions dropped in 2024 to 2.8% from 2021's 4.8%
- In the digital media and entertainment industry, subscriber acquisitions resulting from re-acquiring a subscriber who had formerly canceled is 1-in-4
- 73% of publishers offer both annual and monthly subscription plans, recognizing users need for flexibility, but complicating the sales process at the same time
To read more deeply about subscription trends, go to Recurly's 2025 State of Subscriptions and to Zuora's Subscription Economy Index, 2025. To find out about the subSummit, go here.
#managementconsulting #subscriptions #subsummit #subscriptioncommerce
Yahoo’s CEO Jim Lanzone explains to Quantum’s Gretchen Grant how Yahoo maintains its #1 ranking in news and information
Yahoo is on the move as it celebrated its 30th anniversary in March. Recently, Quantum Media Senior Consultant Gretchen Grant interviewed CEO Jim Lanzone for the Media Guru program at the HBS Club of New York.
Yahoo has experienced a renaissance under the leadership of CEO Lanzone and ownership of PE firm Apollo Global Management. “It all starts with product. We believe that Yahoo has great products when it comes to email, finance, fantasy sports, and other areas. Our numbers seem to say that people agree,” Lanzone said. Yahoo is ranked as the #1 news and information site in the US (source: ComScore, per Yahoo).
One recent product advancement included Yahoo Finance’s addition this week of private company information from Forge Global and EquityZen, firms that allow investment in private companies for $5000 and up. With these partnerships, Yahoo Finance now gives investors information across the spectrum of public and private markets.
Lanzone spoke to how Yahoo has integrated AI-driven features in certain products while simultaneously building on its reputation as a “nice place to hang out” on the Internet. This “modern/vintage”, retro-is-cool positioning has drawn a lot of press, as did its first Super Bowl ad in 20 years in February 2025. The ad featured comedian Bill Murray asking people to write him at billhimself@yahoo.com. Murray got hands-on in writing the ad and related videos, Jim explained, a unique instance of comedy raising the profile of an email service. The ad landed on several lists of best Super Bowl 2025 ads.
To read more about Jim Lanzone and Yahoo, see Wired’s “Yahoo Is Still Here And It Has Big Plans for AI”; BusinessInsider’s “Yahoo’s Big Bet”; and AdAge’s “Yahoo, At 30, Looks Back to Help Forge Its New Advertising Identity.”
#management consulting #mediaconsulting
